Mine
by browni'dbrunette
Summary: Hermione has returned, solo, to Hogwarts for her seventh year. Trying to balance her way through the staff room, private potions lessons, and weekly dinners with Harry she finds herself being seen as a staff member as opposed to a student, with all the privileges that come with it. By the end of her seventh year befriending Severus Snape will seem like the easiest thing she's done.
1. Chapter 1

"Happy Birthday 'Mione" Ron took a brief intermission from shoveling food into his mouth when Hermione sat down at the table in the great hall. She sent him a small smile to show her appreciation.

"Thank you, but can you keep it down?" She looked around the table nervously to see who had heard him. "I'm really delighted that you and Harry decided to come celebrate with me but this mustn't turn into a party. It's just supposed to be the three of us and some butterbeer."

"Mnmm, yeah that's what I was supposed to tell you. Harry can't make it. He feels awful but there was an incident at work and now everyone that was in the building is on lockdown for 72 hours." Ron sent a large grin her way and continued eating everything in sight.

"Oh. So just you and me." Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had kissed Ron months ago and since then neither of them had spoken about the incident.

"I may have invited a few people, but it's not a big deal. I have firewhiskey!"

She wasn't looking forward to this evening. The prospect of getting kicked out of the seventh year program for throwing a party terrified her, but not as much as the possibility she was going to be alone with Ron. She just needed to be firm, a couple hours of partying in her room, a monitored amount of alcohol, and by midnight she could comfortably be sleeping in her own bed.

"Alright, I'm going to classes for the day. Don't spend all day eating Ronald! I'll see you in my room at seven tonight?"

"Mhmm," He grunted with a mouthful of pie.

Directly following the final battle Hermione had decided she was going to return to finish her formal education, so on September first Harry and Ron had dropped her off at Platform 9 ¾. The school had instituted a program which would allow students who only needed one final year of schooling a chance to return in a way they would feel comfortable with. After a year of fighting, and running, and seeing death many students weren't able to go back to the carefree life they used to enjoy in the castle so as they began their final year they had a choice to be a student or independents. The students were treated the same way any other would, this was the path most took because they wanted to cling to the childhood they missed out on. Only 5 people out of the 92 returning chose to be independents. They were given private living suites and were largely treated as through they were staff. They were to take private classes in order to gain the most from their education and were expected to be willing to assist teachers however they saw fit.

Although she pressured him to return to school Harry had resolved that his hands on experience trumped anything he could learn in a book so he accepted a job offer from Kingsley and went to work at the Ministry rebuilding and reforming it from the damage that had been done during the war. He purchased a small flat in London and went to see a therapist three times a week. The final battle took place on May 2nd and and three months later he was finally able to get into his flat without being pestered by dozens of reporters for an interview. The dust had settled and people were now too focused on constructing their own lives to worry about what he may or may not be doing.

Ron, despite being one third of what was now being called the Golden Trio, was not receiving quite as much glory as his counterparts. After applying for several jobs he was told in no uncertain terms that stabbing a locket doesn't instantly grant you a job and if he wanted to do anything in life other than polish broomsticks he needed to complete further training so he signed up for an Auror training program in America that would be starting October 1st. Molly was thrilled to have her son living under her roof for a few more months as he prepared to leave for two years.

Hermione managed to slip through the day without drawing any more attention to herself and with a bit of persuasion she convinced Mason Greenwall, a fellow seventh year, to give her details on what Ron had planned. She was relieved to hear it really only was a couple people, and after nailing down who she needed to talk to, she explained to each of them separately that they needed to be gone by midnight. She may have implied that she needed "alone time" with Ron but whatever got them out of her room in a timely manner she was content with. The day dragged and when she dropped her bag in her room at 6:30 she was thankful it was almost over.

Stepping into the master bathroom connected to her room she stripped down and sank into a steaming bathtub filled with lavender scented soap. She was more relaxed than she had been all day, and at 6:53 she woke up to Ron banging on her bathroom door.

"'Mione? Are you in there?" She could tell he had food in his mouth again

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I'll be out in a moment." She wrapped in a towel and began several spells to smooth her hair and make her pores look smaller. When she was happy with her hair and makeup she opened the bathroom door to search for her skinny denim jeans.

"Hi! Sorry! Hi!" Ron was sitting on her bed, evidently shocked she had walked out in a towel. He turned his back and started to stand up and leave.

"You're fine. I'm just stepping into my closet to put clothes on."

He slowly looked up towards the closet door to make sure she had really disappeared.

"Um, yeah, sorry. So I thought we could have a few drinks together and then people are getting here at about nine, I told them thats pretty early but they all insisted they needed to leave by midnight so I guess." He sounded baffled. "Maybe it's some new rule McGonagall has?"

"I think thats always been a rule." She laughed stepping out of her closet wearing skin tight dark jeans and a white ribbed tank top that was just a little too tight so you could see the red tint of her bra. Ron uncomfortably shifted and placed his hands in his lap. "Anyways, if you are planning on me drinking from now until midnight I'm going to need something to eat. Can I get you something?"

She left the bedroom and headed towards the small kitchen area in her suite. Ron stood up once he was certain she had left. He'd had a long conversation with Ginny where he realized that even though he wanted to, he didn't have feelings for Hermione. However the fact that he didn't want to spend his life with her didn't distract from how attractive she was. He took a moment to hide his erection before walking into the living space.

Four and a half hours, two bottles of firewhiskey, and three bottles of elf made wine later Hermione was heavily intoxicated and feeling blessed that come midnight she would be in her own room and wouldn't have to travel anywhere.

"Hermione, we're going to head out. It's late and we want to get back to our rooms before teachers start doing rounds." She didn't know who was talking to her. But she got the jist that people were leaving so she pulled herself together enough to stand up and see people out. Ron laughed as a very drunk Hermione warned about how to get back to their rooms without being detected. He had to apperate home so he hadn't drank nearly as much as she did, he wasn't used to being the sober one and realized it was fairly entertaining. As he started to pick up she turned to him with a serious look.

"We kissed."

"No, we did not. People have been here all night."

"No, Ron, at the battle we kissed."

"Oh, yeah." He wondered if she'd remember this in the morning.

"I don't have feelings for you." He let out a large sigh of relief he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"Thank Merlin" Smiling largely he wrapped her in a hug. Leaning into his arms she took a deep breath and appreciated the fact that he felt the same way. She snuggled her face into his neck and for some reason she couldn't understand she kissed his neck. He tried to pull further away from her but realized if he did that she would fall over.

"You just said you don't have feelings for me. I don't have them for you, so," he paused, mortified that the bulge in his pants pressing up against her was betraying him.

She giggled and slipped one hand down his pants. She used a mocking tone to throw his own words back at him, "_You_ just said,"

"Yes, but me not wanting to date you doesn't stop you from being very attractive. Please stop unless you intend to finish what you are starting"

"I always do," she smirked at him as she dragged the redhead into her bedroom.

She woke up the next morning with a pounding head, wearing nothing but her teeshirt, tangled in her dark green sheets.

_Happy Birthday Again Mione_

_I'm sure you're going to have an amazing year. Last night was great. I wont be able to talk while I'm in America. The time difference makes the floo network impossible and training is intense. I should be home for a fortnight at Christmas but even that isn't guaranteed. I'll be back to England in two years, I can't wait to hear about what you've accomplished in that time._

_Dearly, Ron_


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was exhausted, and not sure how she ended up drinking so much in the first place but she was certain she wasn't going to repeat it anytime soon. Sitting at the breakfast table in the great hall she was glad that only a few people had seen her belligerently drunk. To her knowledge she hadn't done anything embarrassing but she prided herself on being poised at all times and the night before she had been anything but. She was forcing herself to eat a piece of toast when someone sat down beside her and started picking food off her plate.

"Harry!" She beamed and gave him a large hug. "Why is it that all you two do is eat?!"

"Yeah, sorry. Some bloody idiot tried to recreate the dark mark on his forearm to fit in with crowd he was trying to impress. Unfortunately he felt the need to do it in the bathroom stall at work so we all got locked in. Do you know what I had for food in my desk…?! Owl treats, parchment paper, and one lemon drop!"

"That sounds awful," She pushed her plate towards him and decided it was best if she stuck with her black tea anyways.

"I was starting to get real antsy this morning so I may have been whining a bit and said I had to miss your party. Well the second the blokes in charge of keeping us in heard that I was missing The Hermione Grangers birthday he let me slip past. If I had known you were a get out of jail free card I would name drop a lot more often. You'd think being Harry Bleeding Potter but noooo"

"People like me, I chose to help, you were born into the war" She smirked at him. There was a tipping point in the war where everyone slowly shifted their interest from Harry Potter The Boy Who Lived to Hermione Granger The Girl Who Loved. Thankfully all the romantic rumors were dropped pretty quickly, but romance aside she chose to stand by her best friends side. Word had gotten out that Ron left them for awhile which made the Weasleys along with the rest of the wizarding world furious with him and fascinated with the brains of the trio. She didn't mind taking the brunt of the media because it gave Harry a break.

"Snape ten o'clock heads up" Harry mumbled under his breath. Moments after Voldemort vanished Snape had shown up in the great hall looking nervous and exhausted. He'd been taking several different anti-venom potions for the past two years, aware that their was a fine line between being Voldemorts right hand man and being dead. He had been jump roping with that line for awhile.

"Potter." He nodded curtly at Harry. They were far from best blokes but Harry had worked incredibly hard to clear his name. He was reinstated in The Order, given an Order of Merlin first class, and offered to return as headmaster. He had made it clear that he had never wanted to run Hogwarts and would be happy to take back his post as potions master. He had said that the new defense against the dark arts teacher would have their work cut out for them and he didn't want to tackle that task.

"Granger, the rest of the staff seems unaware of your most recent extra curricular activities, probably because they see you as a charming Gryiffindor who can do no wrong, I however do not see you as such, so I am aware. Please meet me in my classroom after your last class today." He didn't speak with the venom his voice usually held, but he still sounded severe. He nodded to both Harry and Hermione and then left the great hall.

"Oh bloody hell." Hermione was on the verge of tears. "What am I going to do? I'm going to get kicked out. I have no control over my life anymore Harry. I'm making awful decisions and drinking and sleeping around oh Merlin!"

"You're going to be fine Hermione. It was one party, from what I heard you can barely call it that. Less than a dozen people drinking and going to bed by midnight. Honestly Mione that just sounds sad. And…" he paused processing the rest of what she had said. "YOU WHAT?!" His voice raised considerably causing the entire hall to turn and stare. More quietly he continued. "You what?"

"I think I'm almost positive anyways I slept with Ron last night." She was too embarrassed to look at him, she was too mortified to look up, she just stared at her lap wringing her hands.

"Hermione! This is great, you two are friends it'll work out perfectly, Molly already loves you…"

"No, you don't understand. We just slept together. I have no feelings for him, he has no feelings for me. It was just sex Harry, it wasn't a great choice."

"'Mione you'll be fine. We all do things like that, you'll learn from it. It'll get better. When Luna and I did we just sort of…"

"You? And Luna? Luna Lovegood?"

"Um, hmm, yeah. Sorry I thought you knew. But that isn't the point. Her and I hooked up once and it was a little weird and we just decided to pretend it didn't happen and we're still friends. Its not awkward at all, Ginny and I and her and Neville went on a double date the other day it was fine."

For a brief moment Hermione had forgotten her school career was about to come to an end, until she finished breakfast and realized the only class she had on Thursdays was her private potions lesson and that meant she needed to be in the dungeon in five minutes. All the independent learners took private lessons so they could get help specific to them. Their history courses and exam prep were taken together but potions, transfiguration, and defense against the dark arts were separate.

"I guess I need to go." She stood up nervously.

"Hermione, it'll be fine. You're an adult now. You aren't a student he can't take house points and threaten to not let you go to a quidditch match."

After being wrapped in a firm embrace by her friend she left the great hall, thinking he had to be right, what's the worst thing that could happen.

Downstairs had always been freezing. She pulled her sweater on and zipped it up almost all the way in hopes that it would take the chill of, it didn't. Standing in front of her professors door she paused, her hands were slightly shaking and she couldn't seem to get herself to knock on the door. Her stomach felt like it had dropped and she knew it wasn't due to the alcohol consumed last night, and she was certain that the room had dropped a couple more degrees.

"Miss. Granger, you can stand their all day, eventually you are going to have to come in." She froze, how did he know she was standing there. She needed to just run and come back later. She was seconds from turning around when he opened the door.

"Do you know how many students I've had try to stand at this door and listen in? It's warded, if anyone is within five feet an alarm goes off in my room." He didn't look like he was going to ruin her life. "Come in." He walked in leaving the door open and she slowly followed. She was surprised when they passed by the tables with cauldrons and then again when they passed his desk. They went into a small back room that she assumed must be his office.

"Professor, I just want to say." He didn't let her finish her sentence

"Have a sit Miss Granger." He sat at the small table in the corner of the room and gestured for her to do the same.

She sat and continued. "It wasn't my idea, I know that's not…." Once more she was cut off.

"Miss Granger. The staff was briefed at the start of term on what the expectations were for our independent learners. The students who chose to live in the dorms get treated as they always would, detention, loss of points, threats of expulsion, despite having gone through war we have the same rules for them that we would any other student. But Miverva wanted this to be a place where all students could be comfortable learning. Who could truly be comfortable fighting in a war one day and getting detention the next? So she laid out a specific plan. I don't agree with it, but I will obey it.

"We we're given clear orders that we were to treat you like adults. That you have been told what was expected of you and we needed to be respectful of that. You aren't a student anymore Miss. Granger" He smirked and Hermione became very nervous, that was the face she was used to seeing and nothing good have ever come of it. Disciplining a student seemed to be putting him in a good mood.

"So will I have to leave tonight or will I have a few days to pack up?" Hermione was doing everything in her power not to start sobbing.

"What?" Snape looked thoroughly confused "Why would you leave?"

"Because, I'm being kicked out of the program"

"What? No." He raised one eyebrow at her and cocked his head a little to the side.

"No, Miss. Granger. You are not being kicked out of the program. They told you that you would be held to the same standards as staff. Do you think I live in fear of getting fired every time I have a couple people over for a few drinks?" Hermione laughed at not only the thought of Snape sitting around drinking but the notion that they only had a couple drinks

"Is something funny Miss Granger? Does it surprise you that I have a private life and entertain friends?"

"I was laughing about you suggesting we only had a couple drinks but now that you mention it, yes it does surprise me a little."

"Don't push it Granger. The point is, Headmistress McGonagall told us at the start of term to wait a few weeks and then start sitting down with students to help them lay out what they want their year to look like. So what do you want from this year?"

"Why are you being so kind?" She was too baffled by what was happening to realize what she was supposed to be talking about.

"You're really pushing your limits tonight . I'll have you know that this is how I normally am, how I would have been if I wasn't playing spy for years. This is my normal temperament. You've just had the misfortune of dealing with a man who had to act on behalf of not only the most evil wizard in the world but also the most self-righteous. I would apologize if I hadn't been putting my life on the line for yourself and your ungrateful little friends for years."

"I don't know what you mean by what I want from the year." She chose to ignore his snide remark.

"What do you want to get out of this year. Are you here to party? Are you here to learn or to help the younger grades? What are you looking for?"

"Um. Seriously sir? There is no punishment?"

"No, there is not. This meeting wasn't for punishment, I was assigned half of the students to meet with, Professor Trewlany was assigned the other half. The Headmistress likes you so you were put on my list. You seem confused. Lets start with some basic points? Do you want to be treated like staff or student?"

"Staff"

"Do you want us to continue calling you Miss. Granger or would you like us to call you by your first name?"

"First name, would be great Professor Snape."

"If you chose that we assume you're going to call us by our first names. Otherwise the level of formality is shifted and it will look strange to the other younger students."

"Okay, then. So just… starting now? This is really strange"

"Miss. Granger, you're an adult. You're of age, you've fought in a war. In a few short months you'll be out in the world. It's perfectly reasonable that you could be treated as our equal." She could tell he was getting frustrated with her. "It's getting late, I'm ready to call it a day and have a drink so I need you to work with me here." The poison was coming out in his voice and with how frank he was being she could tell that they truly were serious. If she wanted to be treated as a member of the staff she could be.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. Lets continue?"

"So,what'll it be ?"

"Hermione is good. Lets go with Hermione."

"Alright, Hermione." She'd never heard him say her name before and the way it seemed to fit on his lips made her blush a bit. In third year she had developed a minor crush on him after he put himself between Professor Lupin in werewolf form to protect them and the in fourth year when she saw him in clothing aside from his formal black teaching robes that feeling grew. She was certainly never in love with him, but she had often thought about what it would be like to spend time with him outside of the classroom.

"Severus." She paused at how uncomfortable it felt to say his name. She was sure she was imagining things but he looked like she felt, a bit flush and uncomfortable and very awkward. "You can pour yourself a drink, I really don't mind" If they were peers that shouldn't be innapropriate she assumed, but everything she felt was normal seemed to be changing.

"Oh," he wasn't sure how to respond. "No, I'm alright."

"So what's next," She peered over at a form he seemed to be filling out.

"What do you want to do about classes? Which would you like to continue, which would you like to forgo? You can take your N.E.W.T.S regardless of which courses you've taken, so you should only be taking courses you want to learn about. So… what'll it be?"

"Um, oh. Sorry." She could sense his irritation with her hesitation. "I want to continue potions and transfiguration but honestly the rest of my subjects I already read the seventh year content. But I can't just take two classes, what would I do all day."

"You can if you wish to, this gets outside of my jurisdiction but I would guess Minerva will assign you to assist in teaching some other courses. They don't want a group of teenagers running all over the castle for lack of other things to do."

"Okay, so potions and transfiguration then. What else do we need to discuss?"

"That's all I have … Hermione. Is there anything you would like noted in your file." He was staring at shelf with a whiskey bottle on it.

"No. However, what am I supposed to wear? I know that as independent students we aren't a part of a house, we don't contribute to the House Cup. So now that I'm not really a student…" She trailed of unsure of how to phrase her question.

"Dress as you would if you were student teaching here. If you're going to be eating with the staff and calling us by our first name you can't wear school robes. There has to be a clear distinction between the students and the staff, as of this afternoon you are considered staff. You're an insufferable know-it-all surly you can answer your own questions similar to that in the future by remembering that once you sign this "independent study" contract you will be held to the same standards that every other staff member is being that you'll no longer be a student. You're simply using Hogwarts as a place to stay and receiving private tutoring from peers while you await the N.E.W.T examinations." With that he held out a paper that she quickly looked over before signing.

She stood up ready to retire to her room. Before walking out she took a look at the room they were standing in. It was warmer than the classroom, there weren't any windows but the lighting was softer. In the back was the table they had been sitting at and shelfs nearby with whiskey glasses and a glass decanter. On the other side of the room there was a couch and a fireplace that she just noticed was burning. There was a large rug and artwork on the wall that made the room more inviting than the dungeons had ever been.

"Thank you. Have a good night Severus." She walked towards the door longing to be in bed.

"Have a good night, Hermione." As she walked back to her suite she found herself thinking about Severus sitting on his couch having a drink alone and had an indescribable pull near her belly button. She walked back slowly letting it sink in that she was no longer a student, she panicked a bit when she realized that if she was no longer a student she didn't have a silly school girl crush, she had genuine interest in a man who was no longer her teacher.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: To old readers, hello again! Also I edited the first two chapters a bit, the majority of the changed being in the second. Everything is essentially the same but a little easier to follow.

Hermione was surprised how easy it had been for her to transition from feeling like a student to feeling like she was an equal with the professors. When she had the chance to eat in The Great Hall she sat at the head table, but because of the configuration of her schedule she frequently ended up eating in her room or en route to her next class. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday she had a three hour block of potions followed by a two hour block of transfiguration. On Tuesdays she took a N.E.W.T preparation course with all the remaining Gryffindor seventh years, on Thursdays she met with all the muggleborn seventh years for a course on adulthood in the magical community. Hermione was shocked to learn about all the differences from the muggle world. There were obvious differences like career choices but she also learned of specific housing markets, shops, and vacation venues for strictly magical beings.

On Monday morning before making her way to the dungeons Hermione had a meeting with the Headmistress to discuss what she would be doing in addition to her course load, over the past two weeks two independent students had gotten job offers which they accepted and a third student realized he was incapable of living and going to school in the place where he watched so many people die. On October 1st there were only two students left studying independently, Hermione Granger and Mason Greenwall.

The young witch hesitated before supplying the guest password to the eagle standing guard over the Headmistresses chambers. She took a moment to take in her surroundings, although she made it through the war unscathed her parents had not. Weeks before The Battle of Hogwarts Bellatrix had instructed a newer Death Eater to hunt down her parents and not stop until they were dead, Hermione took little solace in the fact that when Voldemort was made aware of the rouge Death Eater he killed him on sight. She sighed for a moment as she realized at least she still had Harry, he would always be her family.

Ron had left for America and took an unreasonable amount of his possessions with him, Harry had voiced his suspicions to her that he didn't think Ron intended on coming back to London after his two years of training were complete. His family still had not forgiven him for abandoning them in the forest and the Prophet would bring it up anytime news got dry. She didn't blame him for wanting to start over somewhere fresh.

She supplied the password of "Tacos" and ascended the spiral stairs. There was a note on the Headmistresses desk explaining that she had stepped out to deal with a disciplinary issue and would reappear by floo within moments. Hermione took her absence to examine the room. It was much less cluttered than it was when Dumbledore had resided here. Aside from the pensive the room was almost unrecognizable. She looked up to the portraits of past Headmasters searching for the white beard she had come to miss in the past few months. He smiled down from his frame and greeted her as an old friend.

"Miss. Granger. What brings you here today? Surely not mischief, young Weasley and Potter always seemed the one to bring that upon you but they did not return this year."

"I need to discuss my schedule with Minerva. I have quite a bit of free time and she needs to give me a project to do during that time. She said 'Idle hands...' and walked out of the room when I asked why" Hermione let a small grin slip and wondered what her mentor had meant.

"Oh, I see. I hear you're only taking a few courses this year. A drastic change from the pupil I had come to know in my time as Headmaster."

"Yes sir, I thought I should take a bit of a break. Next year I'm going to be impossibly busy trying to establish myself, and anyways this give me more time to spend on transfiguration and potions." She chanced a glance over to the portrait to the right of Professor Dumbledore's. Snape was quietly sitting in his frame asleep. Being the only person on the wall still alive he didn't have much to say, unlike the rest of the past Headmasters he wasn't free to speak his mind 24/7 as his living counterpart would have to deal with the repercussions.

"Ah, yes." He smiled, his eyes twinkling the way they always did when he knew something. "More time for potions. Am I right Miss. Granger?" She saw him looking over at Severus and then back to her.

"Um, yes." She didn't know what he was implying. "Also Transfiguration, as I said sir."

"In time , in time."

"I'm sorry? Excuse me? What?"

Before he could reply Minerva stepped from the flames. "Hermione, Hello."

She smiled sitting down at her desk and gesturing for the younger witch to do the same.

After getting the details of her year worked out, Hermione spent an hour in the office sharing tea and discussing the semester thus far. They talked about The Order and what it's purpose was now that Voldemort had fallen. Finally the conversation turned in a direction Hermione was trying to avoid.

"You and the Weasley boy? I had heard rumours after the Battle. Then I thought I saw him leaving the castle very early the morning after your birthday. He appeared to be wearing the previous nights clothing."

"Minerva!" Hermione chided her former professor.

"We've all been wondering for years." She jokingly raised hands in defeat.

"No, we kissed a few months ago but that's all. We don't have romantic feelings for each other, and by the sounds of things he left his room in a state that implies he doesn't plan on coming back. Our world has turned on him Minerva, it may seem like the cowards way out, but leaving and starting fresh? There is something very brave about that, if it wasn't for Harry I would probably do the same."

Hermione walked towards the dungeon thinking about how much had changed since her first year at Hogwarts. She never thought that walking to her potions class would be the least stressful part of her day. She'd learned not to dottle outside the door, it just gave Severus time to come up with witty responses before she stepped foot into the room. Today he was sitting at his desk, drink in hand, grading papers, she knew he was aware of her presence so she was shocked he was still casually drinking. For each of their past classes she would walk in to him putting a whiskey glass away and then he'd continue to put away the papers he had been working on. His level of informality caused her to feel comfortable being honest for a moment.

"I seem to be one of the only ones left at Hogwarts but not technically a student. Minerva didn't seem too upset by it at least."

"Minerva would never admit she was wrong but having a half a dozen people running around who weren't technically students was creating a nightmare. The technicality of student versus independent learner versus staff was getting hard to juggle. Now that it's just you and Mr. Greenwall it's much easier to keep things organized." He looked up from his pile of work and started getting situated for their lesson.

"Mr. Greenwall? He didn't opt to be treated as staff?" Hermione was baffled, unsure of why anyone would choose to remain a student. She began pulling her books out of her bag and setting them on the table nearest his desk.

"No, he decided that he didn't want extra responsibility until it was necessary. He didn't lose anyone in the final battle but everyone saw it's toll regardless. He's moving back into Hufflepufff dorms next week."

"So, it's just me then." She paused, feeling strangely alone.

"Well, Hermione, none of the teachers expected it to be a large program anyways. Either students wanted to go back to their carefree life or they were so damaged from the war that they couldn't imagine going back to school at all." He sounded skeptical as if she must have known that already.

"This was what she expected to happen?" Hermione felt hurt, maybe the program was well intentioned to begin with but now she felt like a guinea pig.

"Essentially. Your year was going to be the only class to be extended this privilege though. Honestly Hermione it makes things easier. You're the only one which means you have even more freedom. You could sit at the professor table everyday and it wouldn't raise any eyebrows because there is just one of you. Professors are going to let their guard down more and treat you as an equal because it's just you now. I'm sure you'll find that beneficial, you've always fit in more with the adults in this school than your peers." He had more than a decade of experience reading people and could tell she was honestly upset by the realization she was the only independent learner left.

Without saying a word he walked over to her table and set a cup matching his on her table. "You and I are equals now Hermione, and as the closest thing you have to a friend here I'm telling you that you need this. Take a break and relax a bit. It's okay for things to change."

They continued on with their lesson as usual, the only change being Severus stopped twice to refill her drink. By the time she left she was feeling very calm, three glasses of whiskey may not affect a grown man twice her size who drank regularly but she was smaller and not as equipped to handle its effects. As she prepared to walk out of the classroom she was feeling a little braver than usual. She packed up her things contemplating her next move, in her mind it was now or never, she left a piece of parchment on the table with her suite password written on it and walked out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

After getting mildly intoxicated in the presence of her former Professor Hermione spent the next two days avoiding him to the best of her ability. After she arrived back in her bedroom she fell asleep and woke up mortified that she has basically invited him to her room, her Gryffindor courage was nowhere to be found so instead of addressing the issue she ate every meal in her room and the only time she spent in the main halls of the castle were to get to her other classes. Yet, as Wednesday afternoon rolled around she realized she couldn't hide forever. Taking her time she slowly went through her closet searching for something to wear, when she couldn't put off her departure any longer she picked up her bag and made way to the dungeons.

"Hermione, you're late." His tone didn't hold the acid it used to do in her time as a student, but it wasn't kind either.

"I'm sorry." He didn't look appalled by her actions the previous class, he looked largely unphased in fact.

"Also you let a piece of parchment here last session, it said 'moonbeam' on it? Does that mean anything to you? I discarded it assuming it was unimportant." He looked truly baffled, she thanked Merlin he hadn't even known what it meant!

"No, must have just been a scrap." She sighed in relief, everything was fine, she hadn't made an arse out of herself. She was certain that he had seen it, been repulsed by the idea, and instead of confronting her had written her off thinking she should know it was an absurd offer on her part. However, a nagging voice in the back of her mind that sounded suspiciously like Dumbledore's whispered 'This means he didn't turn you down' the voice was shut down as he began to speak again.

"On page 268 of your text by Porphyrios you'll find directions for the "initium" potion. It's the first potion from a set of four given to women who are overdue when they are pregnant to try and induce labor. Only a Potions Master is allowed to brew the last two due to the delicate nature but the first is easy enough you should be able to manage."

"Okay," Hermione turned the page, at this point she was used to following what seemed like bizarre directions, however a month into term she was starting to feel brave enough to ask questions. "Severus, this recipe is for a bulk batch of this potion, you normally only teach single servings as not to waste ingredients."

"Brilliant observation," The tone she was accustomed to was coming out. The majority of the time he treated her as an equal, it appeared that he was going to follow the directions laid out by the Headmistress even if he thought they were idiotic. Occasionally his former attitude appeared but even those instances were becoming less frequent as they spent more time in one anothers acquaintance.

"I'll get to work." She looked down embarrassed and feeling like a child.

"No, it's fine. Old habits…" He trailed off. "You're brewing this as a test batch, if you succeed you're going to begin brewing it in larger quantities for St. Mungos. I make their more advance induction potions and a young witch brews the more basic ones on site, however she is now with child and cannot make this particular brew anymore."

"Oh, you brew for ?" She had so many questions but that was the one in the forefront of her mind.

"Yes, I do. They've always had a contract with Hogwarts, in exchange for the medical supplies they give the school the school brews a list of potions for their use."

"Why can't the woman who normally brews them do this one?" She was eager for a chance to branch out but couldn't help but wonder what situation led her to this opportunity.

"It's the first potion to induce labor, the other three work off the first one. A fully pregnant woman could drink all three of the later potions with no effect because the first potion is the one containing the active ingredients for starting labor."

"I still don't understand" She was reading the text now trying to work it out for herself with no luck.

"A women less than 40 weeks pregnant can not correctly brew the first potion because her bodies desire to stay pregnant to term outweighs her efforts at brewing. The potion won't mix correctly because her body would shut down all the active ingredients the moment she touched them."

It had been years since Hermione first learned about the wizarding world but she still felt fascination at learning all the unique details that weren't taught in her courses. She went directly to the supply closet and began collecting what she needed to brew. She found herself grateful that the first task she completed in her potions lessons was reorganizing the stock room because now not only did she know where everything was but she didn't have to fight to read Severus' wretched handwriting. After pulling vials and glass containers off the shelf she went back to her table to begin.

The potion was surprisingly simple yet Severus insisted on watching each step she completed. He had praised her by saying he trusted her enough to send it directly to but followed that sentiment with a comment about her flaws and that he would be supervising the entire process. She cut and prepared the dandelion root while the honey water and boom berries heated in the cauldron over her flame. He sat quietly and watched, rarely making comments about the most effective ways to prepare an ingredient. He had been so silent for several moments that when he began to speak she was startled.

"Once you add that ingredient time is of the essence, it will turn a light purple and the moment it does you have to turn off the flame. Once that's complete you'll need to let it sit in the cauldron for eighteen hours, if everything was done correctly the purple will become more transparent, and then it can be bottled and shipped to the hospital. You can leave it here I'll place protective wards on it so it doesn't become contaminated. If tests for it come back clean you'll be brewing this on a monthly basis until the hospitals brewer is able to again." She nodded, adding the supplies and doing as was instructed. She picked up her supplies and preparing to make her way back to her room.

"Do you think it'll be clear? Did I do everything correctly?" Hermione lived on the praise of teachers and was finding as an adult she wasn't receiving as much as she was accustomed to. After spending countless hours with her recently Severus could sense that the young with was in need of an ego boost.

"It was flawless Hermione. If you tell Potter I said that I will deny it adamantly, but I couldn't have done a better job myself." She grinned at him and set off out of the room leaving the caldron cooling. He watched her take leave thinking that she was much too needy, no one should require the constant reassurance she did. Turning back to her work station he inspected the table thinking it looked exactly as if he had left it. Everything had been cleared, there was a sheet where she noted any observations about the brewing process and everything was perfectly clean except the potion still cooling. He picked up the sheet and looked over her remarks. The potion had been brewed impeccably so he didn't expect to see anything worth reading, he'd watched every step and she had done everything perfectly.

_Initium Potion_

_Start. 1:35_

_Nothing notable first five steps_

_Bhursling Root is excessively barbed, based on time of year harvested?_

_Honeywater seems thicker than normal but still within guidelines of usage _

_Potion on heat_

_Berries letting off strong scent_

He reexamined the list, she hadn't mentioned any of the things she noted but wasn't suprised as he had taught her not to unless it seemed relevant to the brewing process, as he read on he began to feel sick to his stomach, hoping the conclusion he was coming to was wrong he set down the paper and took a deep breath before peering into the cauldron. The potion inside had been sitting for an hour at this point and it was no clearer than it was when she left it. It was growing thicker by the moment. He sighed deeply shaking his head, the potion has deactivated.

Hermione Granger was pregnant.


	5. Chapter 5

Severus Snape stormed out of the classroom intending on hunting Hermione down and giving her hell for not telling him he was wasting supplies along with their time. Not certain where her room was only knowing the general area the independent learners had been placed he had to slow his pace. When he first left his classroom he had been furious at the young witch, why was she wasting their time if she knew that the potion wouldn't be viable. His steps became even slower as he realized she didn't know she was wasting their time. She would have mentioned that it wouldn't work, or at least seem hesitant to brew it. She would have known he would find out when the potion didn't settle right. He reviewed every interaction they had exchanged in the past few weeks but couldn't think of anything that should have alerted him to her being pregnant.

He thought back to Monday when she freely drank the alcohol he gave her, he knew that above all Hermione was compassionate to a fault. If she had known about it she wouldn't have risked her child's well being by drinking. He didn't realize he was standing in the middle of the corridor until a first year rushed passed him trying to avoid detection. Cautiously he looked in the direction he had been walking and then turned around and headed back to the dungeon trying to decide what to do from here. How was he supposed to tell a young single witch with her entire future ahead of her that she was pregnant? He wasn't certain he could. He paused, considering going to the headmistress' office to confide in her but decided that would be catastrophic. The former Gryffindor head always fiercely protected her cubs and he was sure Minerva would find a way to pin the blame him.

Resigned and realizing he didn't have any options at the moment he quickened his pace back to his quarters. When he was finally in the safety of his office he closed the door behind him and leaned against the closed doors, wishing for an answer to come to him. Telling her was out of the question, and inappropriate. She would realize the situation she was in within a few weeks regardless, he didn't need to interfer. Telling anyone else would be wrong, it wasn't his news to share, especially when the witch in question didn't know herself. He would sit on this information until she was ready to share it. For all he knew she would decide to terminate the pregnancy and if she did he knew she would not want someone else knowing, it would only make her feel judged.

For several moment he stood there until finally he had the good sense to go sit on his couch. While the other professors in the school gossiped incessantly he did his best to avoid such pettiness. Despite his general attitude towards sticking his nose in the business of others he couldn't help but wonder who the father was. Surely not Potter, she would never betray by doing that. He doubted she was the type of girl, woman now, who would sleep around on a regular basis. He assumed it was either Ron Weasley or Mr. Greenwall, he scoffed at himself for spending so much time thinking about it, yet continued his deductions. It couldn't be Mr. Greenwall, she was so surprised by the news he was becoming a Hufflepuff again, she would have known that if they were an item. He took a drink as he realized another obnoxious Weasley would be entering the world.

He took another long drink and after realizing he knew whose child it was he began to guess what she was going to do. He doubted she would terminate the pregnancy, it didn't seem like something she would do. He also strongly doubted she would place the child for adoption, she was an adult and while the timing was not ideal he couldn't see her giving up her child if she had any means to care for it. Feeling some relief she reasoned that if she just became pregnant she should be able to finish the year and take her N.E. before her due date. Wondering why he was invested in her plight he poured yet another drink, he was holding on to news he wanted no part of and since he couldn't share it with anyone he was going to host himself a pity-party and drink.

Perhaps the child was another excuse for him to be a miserable old man. He wasn't the family type that some claim to be but he always assumed he would have a child someday. His own father had been a pitiful man who drank far too much and displaced his anger on his only child. After his first year at Hogwarts his father became more abusive than ever and Severus swore that one day he would have a child and he would show it more love daily than he received in his entire life. Yet Severus was getting older and had never had so much as a steady girlfriend. He had been in love with Lily Evans but she didn't return that love, it did nothing to teach him how relationships should behave. In a sense he was jealous of Weasley, not even twenty years old yet and he was in line for a great job, he had an intelligent girlfriend, and he was about to have a child. While Severus had never seen Hermione as anything more than a student he things had changed when she signed the contract severing her title as a student.

In the past he had seen her only in school robes but now he was seeing her three times a week in adult professional clothing, they had shared meals together in the Great Hall, and had even shared a drink together. He kicked himself for thinking that not only was she intelligent she was also very attractive. Realizing that his admission of Granger being attractive was an indication he had drank too much he picked up his things and decided he was best off going to sleep and trying to forget the predicament to witch had placed herself in. After all, the situation didn't actually affect him, especially if he was correct in believing her due date would not be until after graduation. Once in his chambers, laying in his bed, he closed his eyes realizing he felt bad for her that she was still a teenager and she was being strapped with such responsibility, no matter what path she chose it would leave a lasting impact on her life.


	6. Chapter 6

As the weeks wore on Severus waited for the day the young witch would realize that she was with child. Aside from their lessons he avoided her at all costs, admittedly he had been avoiding everyone. He spent years as a spy and knew how to keep a secret, but that didn't mean he enjoyed the task. Thankfully his colleagues were accustomed to his absence and said nothing of it. He was starting to think she was particularly unaware of her body as November drew nearer and she didn't seem to realize it yet. Of course, maybe she worked it out and quickly terminated the pregnancy he supposed. The Friday morning before Halloween he decided that if she didn't appear to be different he would start prodding and see if he could get to the bottom of the ignorance she seemed to be portraying. He took breakfast in his office and then sat trying to decide what he was going to say to her, however the tell tale chime of his hallway alarm told him he didn't have long to figure something out.

He heard her proceed into his classroom and realized it was hours before they were supposed to meet. Hoping she knew so he didn't have to breach the subject he walked out of his office and stood in front of his desk, leaning on it trying to get a feel for her mood.

"You've been avoiding me," It wasn't a question and she seemed reasonably calm.

"I've been busy"

"How long have you known?" She looked like she was going to start crying, he desperately hoped she wouldn't as he wasn't equipped to deal with the emotions of others.

"When I was reading your Initium Potion notes, the Bhursling root had no barbs on it when I picked it, the honeywater was trying to solidify before you could use it, all the ingridents were trying to force you to stop brewing you were just too fast. When I went to bottle it it was thickening and becoming darker by the minute. You had deactivated it." He wasn't sure what to expect, anger, frustration, irritation.

"Why didn't you tell me? It's been four weeks." She didn't seem resentful, just confused.

"I assumed that if you decided to terminate the pregnancy you wouldn't want anyone else knowing, it wasn't my news to share Hermione."

She wasn't sure how he could sit leaned against his desk in such a stoic manner, her world was crashing around her and he was casually communicating with her as if it wasn't of importance. Logically, of course, she realized it was casual to him he had no bearing in the manner, to him she was just another pregnant person.

"Why? Do you think I should terminate? Because if that's what you expect me to do to continue working with you then I guess our professional arrangement is over." She was becoming heated, while he thought it best not to point it out he knew this was due to hormones.

"No, Hermione. I think you should decide what you want. It's your body, please don't let Minerva, or the father, or anyone tell you what to do because at the end of it all you are the one that will have to deal with the consequences." She noticed he seemed to soften a bit, perhaps sensing what she needed least of all at this moment was judgement or coolness.

"Thank you. I'm keeping it. Based on when I got pregnant my due date will be June 12, I take my N.E. on June 10th so I hopefully will have enough time when you consider that most women are overdue when they deliver." He was surprised by how calm and calculated she was being, but from know-it-all Hermione Granger what did he expect.

"Hermione, we don't need to get into specifics here, you should just know that most people can't pin-point when they," he paused before stumbling over the next word, "conceived. You'll want to see a healer before getting comfortable with a due date."

"I'm sure, there is no feasible way this happened on any other date." He shifted nervously unsure of if he should let this conversation continue. As though sensing his concern she said, "We're equals now right? I'm no longer a student. This isn't an inappropriate topic, it's just a regular conversation between two adults. However if you are uncomfortable we can certainly move on."

"It's fine. We're both adults. If that was the only date you saw your boyfriend then yes I suppose you would be certain." He didn't want to ask outright but he was yearning to know if he had been correct in his guess of the father. He was too busy going to sit in his desk chair to notice her blush.

"Um," she paused. "I don't have a boyfriend, but that's certainly the only possible date. The night of my 'extra curricular activities' as you put it. Ron stayed the night."

"Oh, alright. Have you spoken to Mr. Weasley yet? I'm sure Minerva would talk to him with you."

"Why would I speak to him?" She seemed honestly confused

"Because you two are having a child together?" Severus raised one eyebrow at her and cocked his head slightly.

"No, I'm having a child. He is in America starting over and I'm not about to stop him." She seemed overly calm about the matter.

"The child will need a father."

"Well it certainly won't be Ronald." At this point she let out a small laugh.

"But it is Hermione," He knew this was her choice but the poor kid had a right to know.

"No, it is not. If you can't respect that I'll start studying potions privately as well. I don't owe you an explanation but I respect and somewhat admire you so I'll provide one. Ron left for Aurour training, it will last two years with no contact from home, and when he left for America he took all of his belongings with him. He has no intention of coming back here anytime soon and I'm not going to force him to. Molly is coping the best way she knows how, but it's been very hard on her. Which is why she can't ever know this is technically her grandchild. You've met her Severus, she is so rooted in tradition she will insist that we get married, if I can somehow avoid her forcing that on me you and I both know that she will find a way to force me to leave school and be a stay at home mom. I love children, and I will love my child but I don't want that from my life Severus." She looked like she was trying very hard to keep a calm demeanor.

"I won't say anything Hermione, if this is what you want a won't say anything." He wanted to comfort her but didn't know how. The relationship between them had evolved drastically since the start of term but while he was sitting behind his desk and she was sitting on the table across from it seeking help with her problems it was very similar to a student professor relationship. The only thing keeping it from being such was that as a professor he never would have been so willing to help a student.

"And finally, he isn't the father of my child because I won't let him be. He's a good kid, but he is just that. He's a kid and he always will be. Ronald is immature and selfish and needy. He doesn't know how to take care of himself, he's hot headed, and he is the most dependent person I have ever met. Molly cares for every aspect of his life and none of those are traits I wish for my child to have. I know I'm flawed. I am stubborn and I have a constant need for praise. But I want more for my son or daughter. I want their father to be intelligent, and brave. I want him to be cool under fire so I know he can care for myself and my child. I want their father to respect me and treat me as an equal, not someone who is only there to serve." She started to trail off as she realized just how personal this conversation had became. "I need my child to have a father who will put their needs first Severus, and never make them feel like they're a burden because of it"

She had stopped ranting and now seemed exhausted and defeated. He sat at her desk, awkwardly watching her fall apart, wishing he knew how to react. She wasn't sobbing, and she was doing her best to hold herself together but he imagined the stress of everything was slowly crushing her. She stood up, presumably to step into the bathroom, he watched her tiny frame shake softly as she took a few deep breaths trying to pull herself together. Before he could process what he was doing he stood up and walked around his desk until he was standing in front of her. Without thinking he pulled her body into his, wrapping his arms tightly around her in a hug. At first her entire body stopped moving and he could feel her muscles tense up, but her wish to appear strong was defeated by her bodies primal need for human contact. She melted into his warm embrace putting her head on his chest, he stood there unsure of what to do or say, neither his training as a professor or a death eater had taught him how to correctly comfort a crying pregnant woman.


	7. Chapter 7

Moments after Hermione broke down into his arms she pulled herself together and tried to continue on with their potions lesson as though nothing had happened. Severus was letting her set the tone of their interactions and it appeared that she decided if she never talked about the issue it wouldn't change her life. Severus realized it wasn't his place to worry or even mention it but as November came rushing to an end he was starting to worry about her. From what he had seen she had yet to change her mind, but she hadn't yet done anything to prepare for the situation. The last weekend of November he decided he couldn't stand by and watch her make a mess of the already precarious situation she was in.

He had planned on waiting until their next lesson but when she sat down across the table from him in the otherwise empty staff room he decided it was best to just get it over with. He chanced a look up and noticed she didn't look much different. She did seem to be glowing, and her jumper was hugging her a bit tighter than normal, but what he became hung up with was how large her breasts had become.

It seemed like each week she stayed at the school they became closer friends. Hermione was glad to have someone to take her mind off things and talk about potions in a way Harry never could keep up with and Severus enjoyed someone who didn't walk on eggshells around him like everyone else seemed to. With each passing week they shared more friendly banter and, although he hated to admit it, he realized that she was much more like himself than he could have guessed. They both loved potions where there was always a right answer, they both loved reading an old book from the library, and they even shared the same taste in wine, not that she was able to drink any.

Often one of them would get nervous about the comfortability of their friendship and would become harsh and cruel leaving the other hurt and confused for a couple of days but at the end of it they would come back to a kind dialogue. Looking at her from across the table he wondered if this would be the test of their friendships strength.

"Good Morning, you're not at the staff meeting?"

"No, as I'm not staff I decided to stay back. What's your excuse?" She smiled at him kindly and continued on with her work

"I'm playing hookey." He paused thinking it was time to rip off the band aid.

"You can ask." She let out in a hardly audible whisper just before he had a chance to say anything.

"What?"

"I'm keeping the baby, and raising the baby, I'm not going to change my mind about not telling Ron. So what other questions do you have Severus?" He was suprised by her bluntness about the matter, especially in the middle of the staff room.

"Have you gone to see a healer yet?" She didn't say anything for a prolonged period of time she just stared at her feet. He gave her a few moments before prodding, "Hermione?"

"No, I haven't."

"Why not? You're smarter than that Hermione you know," But what she knew he wasn't going to have the luxury to tell her because he was cut off.

"Well, obviously not, because here I am. Pregnant. Single. With no insurance to speak of."

"Hermione, there are ways to deal with payment" He couldn't believe she was being so stubborn.

"There is also the matter that once I see a healer I will need to disclose my situation to Minerva, and I am not ready to fight the pressure to tell her who the father is. When news travels to Ronald he will know it was him, I'm single. He's the only person I've been with, ever, and it was just that once." Severus was shocked to hear that aside from a drunken hookup Hermione Granger was a virgin.

"You can't avoid it forever Hermione, what was your plan initially? You knew this day would come?"

"I was hoping I would have figured it out in that time frame, I don't know. I'm ignoring my problems because I see no reasonable way of fixing them. Unless you happen to know a young man who is single, and has insurance, and wants to tack himself on to a knocked up witch he doesn't love." She laughed out loud realizing that those ridiculous conditions being met was her only chance of this working out as she had hoped. For her to not have to drop out of school so she could battle the bills that would start racking up and to have and love her child without interference from the Weasleys.

She loved Molly and even Ron in a way but she had been serious about them not being able to know. Ronald didn't want a child but would stick by them out of obligation, that would make everyone miserable and Hermione didn't want or need that. If Molly discovered she would harass her night and day until she broke down and married Ron and gave up school to stay home and have another half a dozen children.

The pair didn't get to discuss her situation further as while she was still laughing Minerva walked into the room.

"Severus Snape! Where were you?" She scolded with pursed lips

"That's my queue to take leave. Minerva have a great day. Severus," she looked at the severe look on Minerva's face, "Good Luck." With that she left the two older professors to squabble with each other.

Walking back to her room she thought more about what she had said to Severus. She'd been sitting in her room every evening trying to think of a way to get herself out of the mess she was in and just now after saying it aloud did she admit it was a pretty damn good solution, even if it was impossible. If she were to find such a person they would have to know she was pregnant and accept that they had to be the father because she was too far along to hide it or act like the baby was theirs and once she gave a name for the father that is the name she would have to stick with. If her story started changing or the father bailed out on her she would have no choice in the matter, Ron would figure out the farce instantly.

Across the castle Severus was making his way back to his chambers after being scolded by the Headmistress. Thankfully he had been seen in the company of Miss. Granger so her irritation was lessened. He couldn't help but wonder what it was about that girl that everyone found so enchanting. She was intelligent, he would give her that but she relied far too much on her book smarts and didn't hold enough store in her common sense. She was certainly attractive, sometime in the past month he had stopped trying to deny that fact about her, however it was a simple beauty, there was no reason it should captivate others so. He couldn't argue with the fact that she had a stunning smile, one that somehow seemed different from the one he had insulted in her fourth year, and her compassion knew no boundaries. He was beginning to see why all the other professors thought she could do no wrong she wasn't without faults, but she was pretty damn perfect despite the fact that he would never admit that to her. He got back to his room and sitting on his couch tried to think of something, anything he could do to help her, she deserved happiness and as smooth of a life as she could possibly have regardless of the situation she placed herself in.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione's self imposed deadline to talk to Minerva by December 1st came and passed without action. When she awoke on the morning of December 19th she took a second to admire the falling snow before searching her closet to get dressed, as she tried to put on one shirt after another she realized they were all just a smidge too tight. Looking at the calendar and noticing she was officially three months pregnant she resigned that she had no choice, today had to be the day. She picked one of her looser tops and made way to the golden eagle statue.

The start of her conversation went surprisingly well, congratulations and small talk passed and Hermione thought she had been worrying for nothing. Until Minerva mentioned she didn't know Hermione was seeing anyone. Once it became clear she wasn't and she had no intent of revealing the father it become more of an interrogation than a conversation. Hermione sat in her seat fairly detached as she was asked and pressured for information from every angle. They spent over an hour going back and forth, Hermione becoming more aloof with time and Minerva's face turning red with frustration.

"Hermione, who is the father?" The headmistress sounded defeated, she wanted to accept her friends refusal to divulge the name of the father but the wizarding world was too tangled in tradition. Whereas in the muggle world you can have a child and raise it out of wedlock with no man to speak of, in their world it would be disastrous.

"I can't tell you that Minerva, and I'm so sorry." Hermione sat across from her desk feeling like a young student once again. Tears were slowly rolling down her face as she was questioned for what felt like the hundredth time.

"You don't understand dear, when the Ministry catches wind of this they are going to do everything in their power to force this baby away from you anyway they can." There was a department in the Ministry that was specifically designed to uphold traditional family values. Usually these were the people called upon when wizards were cheating on their wives but there were a few extremist who felt it was their job to protect the image of the country. They honestly believed that anything other than a married husband and wife with two perfect children and a nice home was going to be the downfall of London.

"They can't force me to give up my baby." She looked slightly shocked and hurt that her mentor would even suggest such a thing.

"Legally, no Hermione. However they have their ways. If you go to a healer without so much as a boyfriend, without a father to name the Ministry will find out. They can't force you to terminate or place your child for adoption but they will fight, and fight hard, to prove you are an unfit mother who shouldn't be left alone with your child. They'll have a good case right from the beginning being that you're almost three months pregnant and have yet to seek medical attention."

Hermione sat there horrified, they couldn't take her baby, more importantly than Ron not having a hand or being allowed to stay in school she had to protect her baby. She tried to swallow hard a few times but couldn't as her mouth was bone dry.

"I will ask you one more time Hermione, whose child is this." She sniffled once, looking around the room as if willing for someone to appear and save her.

"Minverva the baby is," She was about to name Ron Weasley as the father of her baby, thus cursing herself to a life of diapers and no more intellectual stimulation than reading dinner recipes when she heard the door behind her whip open. Severus Snape came striding in with his black billowing robes behind him and walked directly to the desk of the Headmistress.

"Mine, Minerva, the baby is mine. That's why she couldn't tell you." Anyone looking in on the scene would have been hard pressed to decide who looked more shocked Minerva or Hermione. Neither of them were able to say anything and both stared at Severus like he had two heads.

"I was standing outside the door waiting to meet with you and I couldn't have you pressure her anymore, I'm sorry Hermione I think she is right. They'll have to know and the stress is not good for you or the baby. Minerva, it happened days after she signed the independent learner contract, she was no longer a student so there are no implications for you to deal with. She has been wearing regular clothes all term and doesn't eat with the students anyways so her pregnancy should not cause a stir. With that being said I think I'm going to take Hermione back to her chambers and let her rest." He looked at Minerva with ice in his stare daring her to stop him, when it became clear she was going to do no such thing he put his hand out for Hermione to take.

Hesitantly she put her hand in his and followed him out of the office as they began walking towards her room. Quickly she put together that they were going back to her room as it was obvious they were not headed for the basement and she knew they couldn't have this conversation in the middle of the corridor. Severus clearly didn't know the way to her room so she started guiding them. After arriving at the giant painting of trees that covered her door she supplied a password of "Blossom" and stepped through.

He hadn't seen any of the independent suites and was quite impressed, after walking through the painting they were standing in the middle of a fairly large living space complete with a couch, fireplace, and a overstuffed chair. The room was not decked in the scarlet and gold he had been expecting but it certainly did have Gryffindor undertones. To his left was a small kitchen and to his right was a door he assumed must lead to her bedroom. He was fairly jealous when he realized the space was as large as his own chambers, if not bigger. Hermione let go of his hand, not thinking about what it meant that they spent the entire walk back to her room holding hands.

"Were all the other independent suites this large?" He knew there were more pressing things to discuss but wanted to avoid them as long as possible.

"I don't think so, I didn't see any of the other rooms but when people were here they all said it was the largest they'd seen. I think Minerva was trying to cajole me into staying on and taking up the transfiguration post." She noticed he didn't comment on her use of the past tense, of course he wouldn't any dreams she had of doing something that large were now gone, she'd be lucky to get a basic job as a shopkeeper as a single mum. They could both tell the time had come to address the issue at hand.

"Hermione, before you say anything let me explain. I want to start by wholeheartedly apologizing. I shouldn't have said anything at all, I should have kept my large nose out of your business but I couldn't let you tell Minerva it was Mr. Weasley unless I thought thats what you honestly wanted. You're brilliant Hermione, no don't shake your head at me, you are. You could do all the amazing things you've dreamed of but not if Molly Weasley makes you drop out of school and move in with them. If you want to be a stay at home mum fine, that's something we can figure out, but on your terms not hers." He took a breath, she couldn't help but notice he had said 'we can figure it out'... _we. _He took another large breath before beginning again.

"As it stands presently you and I are the only two people who know that I'm not honestly the father. Even if Mr. Weasley or others know you slept with him we are the only two who know that you did not do the same with me days after, as I doubt you went around telling people 'I didn't have sex with Professor Snape today'" With that she blushed uncontrollably.

"So, if this is what you'd like, you can name me as the father. I promise I will not interfere with your education or career goals and I will take an Unbreakable Vow if you'd wish promising that I will never reveal the truth. If you're interested we can talk about how to proceed from here. I don't have to be a part of your life Hermione, I'll say I want nothing to do with the child and you can continue about however you planned to raise it alone." The realization dawned on her that he had no interest in helping her, she was still alone. For a moment, when he told Minerva it was his child she felt her stomach flip for reasons other than the shock. The protectiveness in his voice made her heart melt, however now it was clear it was all an act.

"Okay, thank you Professor. I can see you out now." She made a move towards the door.

"Hermione, please don't pull the 'Professor' crap with me, stop sounding so rejected I'm not done talking yet!" She stopped and made a motion with her hands for him to continue.

"However, if you don't wish to raise this child alone I will gladly accept the responsibility of father in more than title alone. We're obviously not in love, but you don't have to love someone to raise a child with them, or even to get married. All you need is respect and a willingness to put in the hard work required. I'm not a perfect man Hermione, and the wizarding world will still be in an uproar over your choice of partner and our being out of wedlock, but I'm no stranger to resistance and I am probably the best person to have by your side to fight of the vultures that will surely descend. We don't have to have a relationship and someday when you find someone you would like a relationship with I would step aside and let you find happiness, at that point the baby will be yours and the Ministry won't be able to do anything."

Hermione was shocked he was willing to go through with what he was suggesting. Initially her mind told her to run, she couldn't raise a child with Snape. But the longer he talked the more sense he made. It didn't have to be love, all they needed was respect which they had an abundance of, and the willingness to work hard, which they each obviously did.

"Theres a lot of things we'll have to talk about. If you're interested we can draw up some form of agreement. Nothing legal obviously as we can't let anyone else see it, but just a list of guidelines as to how we are going to go about this. The quaffle is in your hands Hermione. The way I see it you have three options. One, tell Minerva it isn't me and deal with it on your own. Two, let her believe it is me, tell her we aren't seeing each other and still deal with it on your own. Or three, let everyone know its me and let me be your childs father in actions along with the title. I'm not a perfect man, but you didn't ask for perfect. When you told me what kind of man you wanted to father your child love was not a requirement. You asked for intelligent and brave, you asked for coolness in the face of fire. You didn't say you needed passion you said you needed respect; an equal, someone who would never ask you to serve them. I'm all those things, and I think you knew it when you made that list." She made a face as if she was going to protest.

"I'm not suggesting you wanted me to be the father, but you can't deny that you needed a friend and support and the first person who was able to give it to you based solely on circumstances was myself. But most importantly you didn't ever want your child to feel like a burden. If I'm the father she won't, this situation is strange and unorthodox but I would be lying if I said the possibility of being a father didn't excite me."


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning the sun reflecting off the layer of snow lit up Hermiones livingroom causing her to stir from the couch. She jumped up, her heart racing, certain she had missed an important lesson until she remembered that it was Saturday. Once her panic subsided she looked around the room letting the memories of the day before wash over her. After Severus claimed to be her child's father to Minerva they returned to her room. He seemed genuinely alright with telling the world it was his child, regardless of their lack of a relationship. They had spent the evening in her livingroom, him sitting in the chair while she was curled up on the couch, discussing how to proceed. Although all this registered she wasn't sure why she was sleeping on her couch, she looked no further than the coffee table before receiving her answer.

_Hermione, _

_When I returned from making tea in the kitchen you were asleep, I didn't want to wake you, you really do need to get more sleep if you plan on having a healthy pregnancy. I finished writing up our agreement if you'd like to look it over, let me know if you have any concerns. _

_Severus_

_PS. Remember this idea was mine, I'm all in if you are._

She read the letter with the same professional tone she was sure it was written in, she scoffed at receiving pregnancy advice from Severus Snape but couldn't deny he was right. She'd spent so much time obsessing over the predicament she was in and trying to plan her next move she hadn't slept an adequate amount in weeks. The postscript was several inches below the initial message, causing her to almost miss it completely, when she did read it her heart warmed a bit. Maybe him being the father of her child wouldn't be a totally hopeless case.

When the morning breath taste in her mouth became too much for her nausea to handle she stood up and decided to get dressed for the day, walking toward her room she pointed her wand over her shoulder allowing the livingroom to begin cleaning itself. Before she made it into the bedroom the pillows were back in their proper location, the tea cups were in the sink, the biscuit container had made its way back into the cupboard and the blanket she had been covered with was neatly rolled in a basket at the end of the couch. She glanced back and tried to remember when she had pulled it out, after thinking for several moments she realized that she hadn't, Severus must have found it to cover her before taking leave back to his own room. She smiled, her heart once more softening towards her former Professor.

She began brushing her teeth while she was waiting for the water in the shower to warm, while she hadn't thrown up even once she had spent the past two months feeling as though she had spent the night before thoroughly drunk and always felt as if she was on the edge of throwing up. Her morning breath making her feel sick to her stomach was the first of many pregnancy symptoms she had learned how to deal with. She'd learned to never be in a room where eggs were being eaten and that everything tasted like cardboard except which ever food she happened to be craving at the moment. She'd eaten more hamburgers in the past three months than she had in her entire time at Hogwarts combined, as the Great Hall didn't regularly serve them she had quickly learned the path from her room to the kitchen when she began craving them daily.

After taking an excessive amount of time to wash her hair and body she stepped out of the shower and quickly used her wand to dry her body along with her hair. By hand she tied her hair into a ponytail and set off for her closet praying she could find something to fit her. While her bump hadn't exactly 'popped' yet as people liked to say she was certainly a smidge bigger, that combined with the hamburgers she'd been eating on a daily basis caused the clothes that were already a bit tight on her at the start of term to become nearly impossible to wear. Trying on shirts one by one and becoming increasingly upset when none flattered her she started tossing the too small garments in a pile on her floor. Finding one oversized dark green shirt that did fit she resolved that she would have to go buy clothes that fit sooner rather than later.

Deciding her room, living room, and kitchen were as tidy as they could be she sat down in her chair and began looking through the to-do list she kept in a notebook on her table, realizing she had done everything the day before in a fit of nerves before seeing Minerva she picked up the parchment she had subconsciously been avoiding. Using Accio to retrieve her blanket from the previous night she sank into the chair with the 'fatherhood guidelines' Severus had drawn up the night before with her assistance. Before reading she noticed the way her chair smelled, had she been asked to write a paper on the scent it would be the first assignment she'd ever fail, she could pick up brief hints like parchment paper and the scent a potions lab had after a day of brewing but it was overall an earthy manly scent, as she searched for a word to describe it she could come up with just one. Severus.

She flung the curtains open wider with her wand and unrolled the parchment.

_**Fatherhood Agreement**_

_**Severus Snape will **_

_*tell any and all parties who take interest that he is the father of the child_

_*allow Hermione to continue her educational and career goals in any way she sees fit _

_*provide monetary assistance to Hermione to be used for the care of the child_

_*keep the biological father's identity a secret indefinitely_

_*make parenting decisions with Hermione, understanding she will have more weigh in them as the child will live with her_

_*not expect a romantic or sexual relationship with Hermione Granger_

_**Hermione Granger will**_

_*not disclose the biological father of the child at any point_

_*see a healer in regards to her pregnancy before January 1st_

_*list Severus Snape as the father on all legal documents therefore binding him to the child emotionally as well as financially_

_*not have a sexual relationship with anyone through the duration of her pregnancy_

_*allow Severus to assist in parental choices_

_*not expect a romantic or sexual relationship with Severus Snape_

_*maintain that Severus is the father despite any future relationships be them platonic or physical_

_**Details**_

_*conception took place approximately a week after signing the independent learner contract_

_*it was not the product of a previous emotional or sexual relationship_

_*the act was entered into willingly by both participants_

_*both participants are currently single, maintain a platonic friendship, and have decided to raise the child together despite future relationship status'_

She had lost count of the number of remarks she wanted to make on their 'agreement'. She had insisted that she wasn't concerned and the technicality of writing everything on paper was unnecessary but he had counter argued that it was the best way to avoid misunderstandings. In his defense, he had much more to lose than she did. If he put himself in a position to fall in love with a child that she then ripped away the consequences would be agonizing.

After he'd offered to step in as her child's father they'd had a long conversation, fueled by several cups of tea, about how the situation would play out. Hermione became an insufferable nag trying to understand what was in the situation for him. She quickly dismissed that he was simply trying to be a friend, he could do that by being the father in name only, and his suggestion that he was only interested in the child rearing process, her baby wasn't about to be a guinea pig, and after an hour of bickering he disclosed the true reason. Since he became aware of her pregnancy he had thought a lot about how he assumed one day he'd have a child, since that clearly was not going to happen in a natural order he had resigned himself to dying without an heir to his name.

He hadn't planned on giving his name to Minerva to weasel his way into raising her child but he knew he was willing and keen to do so when he did. Hermione had agreed, reasoning that her child would need a father and it didn't exactly have to be the person she ended up marrying. She had to name a man and she had to do so now, instead of naming one and then spending years trying to fall in love quickly so she could let her child believe her husband was his or her dad she would let Severus be the father indefinitely, with the understanding one day she would fall in love and get married to someone else while still allowing him to be the child's 'biological' father.

She sat down to write a note to Severus, unsure of how he spent his weekends and not wanting to bother him.

_Severus,_

_I wasn't sure how you generally spend your weekends and didn't want to disturb you. I'm going to go to on Monday I would like to have all of these details ironed out by that time._

_*I am not expecting money from you, at any point, this is my mess (not the child, clearly, just you know… the pregnancy)_

_*I will OBVIOUSLY be seeing a healer by the New Year, I'm stubborn not daft_

_*Who would I be having a sexual relationship with, Severus? I'm not going to expose my child to an STD please don't be absurd_

_*I doubt anyone is going to look for explicit information of how "conception" came to be, this will be more than sufficient for details_

_If you still want to go through with this in the light of day let me know, I'd like to meet to go over everything one final time before announcing this. I'll be in my room for the remainder of the day getting everything organized so I can run errands tomorrow in Hogsmeade, please stop by. Truly, just show up, I have no plans. _

_Hermione_

_PS. Thank you, for letting me sleep last night_

_and for everything else. _

After charming the note to fly to the intended recipient she put down her quill and ink and laid her head on the arm of the chair. Pulling the blanket up around her she shifted several times and rearranged a few pillows until she was truly comfortable. She cast a reverse silencing charm on the door to drown out the noise caused by the younger students outside her room and settled in the chair with 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' intending on reading a handful of pages before continuing about her day. However her plans made a fool, cuddled into an oversized armchair, going over information she had read twice already, in the sunlight from her window she fell fast asleep. Her final thought, was that it was incredibly easy it was to fall asleep to his scent and she wondered if a simple chair could relax her so thoroughly how nice would it be to fall asleep in her bed next to the warm body the scent belonged to.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Not my best work, but I had to just get back into it. After I post this I'm taking a brief hiatus to go back and edit the previous chapters.

ALSO*** I am desperately looking for a beta and can not find one. If you want to beta or know someone please let me know (it means you'd get to read it first!)

The next morning Severus was bottling the morning sickness and prenatal potions he had been working on in private for Hermione when the small piece of parchment flew in and landed on his table. He'd been up nearly all night brewing their final stages, they had been work-in-progress's since she declared she was going to have the child but weren't completed yet because they all took months to finish. The wizarding world was traditional to a fault and it was assumed any baby was a planned baby and one could order the potions to start brewing when they started trying to conceive, therefore being complete by the time the witch fell pregnant. He glanced at the paper just long enough to confirm it wasn't from Minerva and then continued.

Two hours had passed by the time he remembered that he had forgotten about the note. Looking over Hermione's precise and looped font he gathered up his things and set off to her room, making his way up from the dungeons and through the quiet corridors of the halls that were a tell-tale sign of a Hogsmeade weekend.

"Hermione," he gently knocked on the door, hesitation in his voice, pausing for response. When none came he rapped with a bit more urgency. He went over the note in his mind 'Truly, just show up, I have no plans' so thats what he did, it certainly wasn't inappropriate for him to be outside her door but still no reply.

"Hermione." At this point he was starting to panic and pounded rapidly. He stood silently for a moment, struggling with his conscious trying to decide what to do. By nature he was a realist, having seen too much horror to be an optimist, he'd learned long ago that he needed to take things at face value. He stared ahead blankly at the tree painting and tried to calculate what the value of this situation was.

She had said she would certainly be in there, and she wasn't answering. She could have stepped out and forgotten to say. On the other hand she could be on the floor in a pool of blood having passed out. He knocked one last time before deciding to walk away. He was certainly over reacting and was going to leave before he made a fool of himself by bursting into her room needlessly. He'd made about 20 paces from her room when pessimism and fear crept into his heart and he decided he couldn't risk it. He turned on his heel and ran to her room blasting _Bombarda _preparing himself for the worst.

"Severus?" With pieces of debris on his black robes and wand in hand he looked ready to attack. His eyes shot around the room searching for whatever trauma he'd expected but found none, what he found instead was Hermione barely awake in the chair near the door.

"Hermione, what the hell? You're okay?" He took another step into the room searching still for an enemy.

"Yeah, Im fine. I fell asleep, sorry. Did my portrait hole do something to offend you?" She laughed a little sitting up and rubbing the crust out of her eyes. Severus took advantage of her having her guard down to scrutinize her appearance. She'd been doing her best to make it seem like she hadn't gained weight but in skin tight leggings while trying to pull her shirt down to cover her stomach it was obvious she had.

"No, I was just… I was just worried." He knew he should have been more mortified at the scene he caused but he was still trying to calm down from the fear something had happened to the baby, or to her, and mostly he was trying to decide which of those two would have upset him more.

"Fix my door and I'll make tea?" She stood up hiking up her leggings and pulling down her shirt. "So, other than my comments, is there anything you want to discuss, we can rewrite the contract."

"Hermione, if we do this, I'm going to be the father of your child, and according to the world this child will have come about the natural way. We can't be quite so stiff about this, because your child is going to call me Daddy and you're going to be asking if we need contracts for who will bring him to kindergarten."

"Yeah, okay. It's just that this isn't your child, she's just mine and you don't have to do this." She sat back down and handed him his tea, covering her lap with the blanket once more.

He stood up slamming his tea on the table with more force than he intended.

"Make a decision Hermione, right now. I told you how I feel, I've always wanted a chance to be a father. You say the word and this baby will be mine too, just as much as it's yours, but once you do that you can't take it back. Say the word and I'm in, but you can't change your mind when things get tough. If you want me to be the father then I am, for the rest of my life." He'd started his soap box speech with a lot more force than he ended it with. What started as anger turned into fear, fear that she would turn him down but just as much fear that she would tell him to stay.

"Stay"

"Are you sure? This is it Hermione. Think about it for a second."

"I've been thinking about it. All night last night, all morning today. Stay, please."

"Okay" She'd stood up in the middle of his rant and they had been awkwardly standing across from each other with the coffee table dividing them. On her request for him to stay he'd closed the gap and wrapped her in a hug.

"So," She paused

"So," He stepped back from her

"I'm going to St Mungos on Monday, my appointments at 6pm, it's later than they normally schedule them but I wanted to stay out of the publics eye for a bit longer."

"Okay, so when do you want to meet?" he said the same time she added "I'll let you know how it goes"

"Meet for what?"

"For your appointment, do you want to meet there or here? We could meet in the potions lab?" He was obviously nervous.

"You don't have to do that, I was going to go alone."

"I'm the father. I'm going to be there."

A/N: SERIOUSLY I need a beta. I know this isn't great. I'm losing steam and I need help. Please review and help me solve this beta problem!


	11. Chapter 11

Severus left as abruptly as he had arrived and Hermione was left magically removing the final pieces of debris from her couch after sending Harry an owl asking him to come around at his earliest convenience. No matter how private she tried to make her appointment she was certain that by Tuesday morning word would be out. She wasn't prepared when he stepped through her portrait hole no more than an hour later. Kicking herself for not realizing how quickly he would arrive, being that it was a weekend, she welcomed him inside.

"So you finally allowed the house elves in?"

"No? Why would you say that? They're clearly mistreated and I'm not going to add to their plight. S.P.E.W. is still alive and growing, I've even had a few first years take interest." He cut her off.

"Your room is cleaner than normal is all, it looks like it's been magically scrubbed. I know you don't see the point in cleaning so deeply." He sat down kicking his feet onto her coffee table and picking at the biscuit tin.

"There was a… mishap" She sat down in the chair and took a deep breath trying to force the words she needed to say out of her mouth.

"What's up Mione? Not that I don't love eating your food but we usually reserve this for Sunday nights" He smiled kindly but it didn't reach his eyes and she could tell he was strongly wondering what was so vital it couldn't wait another twenty four hours. She had been thinking about how to tell him for the past three months and had gotten no where. It just had to be said.

"I'm pregnant" The words hung in the air between them. Neither of them moved. Neither of them so much as blinked, as Harry sat on the couch looking at Hermione, waiting for explaination to come. The minutes wore on and when it became clear to Hermione that he wasn't going to respond she realized she needed to offer more.

"I'm about three months pregnant, I'll be finishing school and keeping the baby. I've already spoken to Minerva and I have an appointment with a Healer on Monday. This changes nothing Harry."

He looked around the room, as if he was waiting for someone to jump out with a camera and yell surprise. Realizing that wasn't going to happen he stared at her. He hadn't noticed during any of their past Sunday night dinners, but looking at her now she had clearly put on a bit of weight.

"Hermione, this changes everything. What did Ron say?" This was the only part of the interrogation she had been fully prepared for. She didn't want to lie to Harry, but he was the most important one to deceive. If she could convince him than everyone else would follow suit.

"I haven't spoken to Ronald since he left, and there is no need to as this isn't his baby." She tried to sound casual but was glad she could use adjusting herself in the chair as an excuse to not look him in the eye.

"What? You aren't seeing anyone 'Mione. I've seen you weekly since term started. The only person you've slept with is Ron."

"There was a night in the Potions lab, I was feeling stressed about the independent learners program and I had a few drinks,"

"Hermione, you really need to stop drinking and sleeping with your classmates." He smiled at her and laughed a bit, for the first time since she found out she was pregnant she thought that maybe their friendship would survive this. He was her family, and if he could still laugh and joke then all hope wasn't lost. After a moment of laughter she realized she had to tell him.

"It wasn't a classmate. I had a few drinks with Severus and one thing led to another and now I'm pregnant."

If the tension was visible before it was now all that could be seen. Harry shot to his feet, his face growing redder by the minute.

"Thats rape Hermione. He was your teacher and you are his student and he got you drunk and took advantage of you."

She wasn't sure what to expect from Harry, yelling certainly, but his comment felt like someone punched her in the gut. In the past three months Severus had been the closest thing to a friend she had and her respect and admiration of him had grown excessively.

"No, it wasn't. I've been calling him Severus all year, just like I call every other teacher by their first name. I haven't been a student since just after my birthday Harry."

She watched him quickly move his eyes side to side while silently moving his hand at his side, pointing in thin air. His lips opened and closely slightly and she could tell he was doing the math. Here it was. The part she had been dreading and preparing for for weeks.

"It has to be Ron, if you're three months now it has to be his Hermione. Which is wonderful. Okay, you slept with Snape, which was certainly ill advised but no one needs to know and you don't have to be strapped to him Hermione. You'll just talk to Ron and sort everything out. He'll be thrilled. Maybe the timing isn't great but he will be so happy Hermione." He sat back down as if he had decided that it was alright so long as it wasn't Snapes. She wasn't sure if he believed what he was saying, but could tell he thought it was the lesser of two evils.

"No, it isn't Harry. I had my period after I slept with Ron, and then shortly after things got carried away with Severus and I,

"I don't need details." He cut her off, "I don't EVER need details."

"Anyways Harry, things got carried away and now we are here. But I promise you its his."

"So talk to Ron anyways. He'll forgive you, and he will be an amazing father Hermione, Or we can lie and say it was me, I will obviously be involved with your childs life anyways if you decide to go through with this.

"I don't know why you're saying if. There is no if. This is my baby and I will be raising him or her as such. Severus and I have talked and he is going to take on the role of father the best way he knows how. I don't know anymore about parenting than he does. We are not going to lie and say it was you because first of all, Ginny would never forgive us, and second of all Severus wants to be a part of this." He had known her long enough and had a growing feeling that something wasn't right with her story.

He knew her and Severus had become friends which honestly, although he was put off by the idea, hadn't surprised him. They both had very similar personalities and with none of her friends at Hogwarts she was going to need to fill the void somehow. But he had such a hard time believing that they had slept together, and the timeline just didn't make sense.

"I'm not talking to Ronald because this is not his baby, and you and I both know he is in America with no plans of returning so I wont be asking him to come back. If we let Molly think that it's his I can kiss any future aspirations goodbye." He looked in her eyes and tried to process everything she had just told him. She quietly stood, waiting for a response, he knew that what he said next was going to stick with her and he wanted to take time to make it as rational and supportive as he could. He was the only one she had left who knew how she felt, raised in the muggle world, no parents, no siblings, they only had each other and he needed to do this right.

The longer he looked at her the more pieces started to fall into place, there was no way she could be three months pregnant and have had a period between Ron and Snape, it wasn't possible. For the first time he picked up something in her face that he hadn't before. Guilt. Standing there he let her words wash over him once more

'_I won't be asking him to come back'_

'_if we let Molly think that it's his'_

Very slowly he looked around the room and realized what she would be giving up if this was Rons baby. Despite any flaws Snape had, he valued education and he was mature. From the few interactions he had seen the two of them have he certainly respected her.

"So this is Snapes baby?"

"Yes, it's Severus'"

"And you're certain, it definitely can't be Ronalds right?"

The way he emphasized 'can't' caused her to pause. He knew. He had to know.

"There is no way Ron can be the father of this baby Harry."

"Okay, then. Congratulations Hermione, you are going to be a wonderful mother, and Severus is…" he paused needing to think of anything positive to say. But regardless of what he said next Hermione would be forever grateful, she was certain he was keeping her secret and he was clearly trying to make this a positive experience for her.

"Well he is… um, educated and he has a job so thats great."

"Thank you Harry, you don't need to try any harder. But thank you." She smiled at him, no matter what happened from here she knew he was by her side. The Prophet and The Ministry could sling mud all day long, but she knew her baby would be loved and provided for, and she knew her best friend was by her side.


	12. Chapter 12

_Knock Knock Knock_

"It's away"

"Yeah, it is. Which was why I was surprised when Hermione told me to come today. You see, we have dinner together every single Sunday. Have all year. But this afternoon I get a note telling me to come to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Any guess as to why that may be Professor Snape?"

He looked up from the paper he had been grading on the uses of Burrow Tail in sleeping potions. For some reason he could put his finger on he was nervous. He took a sip of his whiskey and tried to shake it off, it was only Harry, and he wouldn't allow himself to be bullied by yet another Potter. He took a stride in front of his desk and said in a tone braver than he felt,

"I'm not certain, surely you've been by to see her? Or were you so eager to return to the dungeons you made a pit stop here first?" Harry left his position of leaning against the doorway and strode into the classroom, sitting in a chair behind the table closest to the Potion Masters desk.

"I hear Congratulations are in order. You seem to have knocked up the brightest witch of her age"

"Do you actually want something Potter or are you just here to make small talk and distract me from grading?"

"I don't like you," Harry looked at Severus trying to decide what to say

"I don't fancy you much either Potter, now if thats all," He turned to go back to his desk

"Let me finish. I don't like you, but I love Hermione. Now I'm not sure why but she has decided to strap herself to you for the rest of her life. You've gone along with this plan, surely you realized that I'd be around." Harry eyed the older man, trying to pick up every clue he could from his body language.

"No, it hadn't occurred to me that getting drunk with a former student and making an irresponsible choice would leave me forever strapped to The Boy Who Lived" He was surprised by how crude that description tasted in his mouth. They'd talked about it of course, they had to have a coordinating story, but to actually say it out loud to someone who would take it as truth felt awful.

"So you're going with that story too?" Snape froze, only for a moment but he mentally berated himself for letting his guard down for even a moment, not even a year free of spy work and he was losing touch.

"I'm sorry, what are you babbling on about?"

"You and Hermione got drunk, and then had sex, and she got pregnant. Just one week after she lost her virginity to another man she also wasn't dating? How many other men were between you two do you think?" He raised his eyebrow at his former Professor, not liking how harshly he was painting Hermione but trying to get a rise out of Snape.

"I'm not going to let you stand here and imply that shes a slut." He took a step closer to the table Harry was sitting at.

"Okay, so what exactly is your plan here Professor? Hermione is going to have her baby and then you're going to what? Force an infant to spend every other weekend with you? This is insane and I think you really need to take a step back and look at the situation you're putting yourself in. Hermione is a handful, and shes only going to become more so once she's a mum."

"Mr. Potter I'm going to say this one time and one time only so you better listen good. Hermione is carrying my child, and how we choose to handle that is our business alone. You may be her best friend but for the time being I'm going to assume the role of protector. She is a talented witch and an amazing woman and I will not have you or anyone else tell her how this will affect her life do you hear me?!" At this point his face was mere inches from Harrys and his tone had grown more venomous and lethal with each syllable. Severus was going over every non-fatal jinx and hex he knew in his head, preparing himself for whatever happened next when Harry surprised him. He stood up with a wide smile crossing his face.

"Well then thank you Professor. I got what I came here for, I'll be leaving."

"And what's that? A threat you can take back to Hermione to make her hate me? With how you were talking about her I would keep my mouth shut if I were you."

"Sir, she's my best friend, she's my family. Do you honestly think I meant anything I just said? I needed to get a rise out of you. I needed to see that you were willing to defend her. Mostly I needed to see that you are in this for the long haul. I love her, and I can't have this blowing up in her face a few years from now. Because now it's your turn to listen." The smile gone from his face he leaned across the table towards Severus. "She has an amazing future ahead of her, and she trusts you. Do not make her regret that choice. I may not hold as much power as you, or as much evil as Voldemort, but I have one thing you don't. I have the public on my side. And if you hurt her, if you leave her to deal with this alone, if you abandon her or her baby there will be hell to pay. Make your choice now, and make one you can live with forever."

"Potter, we made our choice three months ago. At this point it's simply fact." At this point Harry was already walking towards the door.

"Snape, you and I both know that isn't true. If you can't handle this for the rest of your life back down now before she gets hurt," The threat in his voice caused a chill to run down the Professors spine.

"That is my baby, and I will respect and protect Hermione for the rest of her life Potter." He shot back with fire.

"Then thank you Professor Snape. Truly thank you, you are giving Hermione more than you could ever know." He smiled kinding at his former teacher before walking out the door. Leaving Severus dumbfounded and nervous, trying to decide if he should tell Hermione what had happened. The one thing he had to admit was that at least Potter got his intelligence from his mother's DNA.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Bit of an odd format sorry, I like how this turned out as a transitional chapter to get from point A to point B while giving you some back story. PLEASE REVIEW. Seriously, I really would love some feedback about how this chapter looks! I'll try to update soon!

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><p>Sunday found Hermione browsing clothing shops in Muggle London. She'd resigned to the fact that the clothes that were already too tight at the start of term needed to be packed up and replaced with leggings and empire waist shirts until a full maternity wardrobe was necessary. Deciding she didn't want to be disturbed she chose to forgo Diagon Alley. Slowly walking down the strip of shops she sent out a nonverbal spell to keep the snow that was falling from soaking her hair and clothes. Dreading returning to the school she took her time walking back to the apparition point. She slowed to a stop in front of a small shop called Carry Me Home, through the storefront window she could see tiny hangers with small baby gowns hung on them and bibs shaped like fruit. Since discovering she was pregnant she had yet to be truly excited about it, she'd planned and prepared and worried about it, but she had yet to enjoy the thought that she would soon be a mother. She stared longingly at the shops door, trying to will herself to go in, but she couldn't; not yet. Walking away quickly she stole a glance over her shoulder, soon she thought, just not now.<p>

Monday came and went without incident. The appointment at St . Mungos was thankfully uneventful. The healer drew her blood, prescribed her a prenatal potion that Severus rolled his eyes at. From the start of the appointment until the very end he stood quietly in the corner, listening to what was being said but trying to appear uninterested. Hermione had spent weeks devouring every book on magical and muggle pregnancy she could find; nothing the healer said surprised her. She was given a folder of pamphlets and informational sheets, pushed several different bottles of potions, and told to make an appointment on her way out for next month. Leaving feeling more overwhelmed than informed they apparated back to Hogsmeade. With each step back to the castle the silence grew more awkward. Hermione was trying, but failing to keep her emotions bottled up and without warning she started quietly crying.

Tuesday afternoon Hermione woke up around 1pm and pulled on grey leggings, a loose maroon top, and boots, hoping that she looked decent and trudged to her N. E. W. T. preparation course, deciding halfway there that she would have to have Ginny over to approve some outfit combinations for her. If anyone knew she was pregnant they kept it to themselves as the only chatter being held in the classroom was about the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff quidditch match happening the next day. Since the war she was continually frustrated and baffled by the need for separate houses, she knew why they were in place, but felt like it caused unnecessary rivalry. Listening to their mentor ramble about proper quills and practical lesson protocol she chided herself for sleeping in so late. No matter how many hours she spent sleeping she was still exhausted; back in her room hours later she made a mental note to ask Severus how much "Pepper-Upper" Potion she could safely take before falling asleep yet again.

Wednesday morning she woke up and walked down to the dungeon for her potion session. After banging on the door and waiting around for the better part of an hour she decided he obviously was ditching their lesson. She wrote a quick note, mentioning that if he couldn't remember basic responsibilities how did he plan on raising a child and suggesting that maybe this was a poor idea after all. Leaving it on his table she stormed out, walking slowly and defeated back to her room. She didn't expect affection from Severus, she knew that was impossible, but although she hated to admit it, she had found herself daydreaming about what things would be like raising a child with him. At first it was images of dropping off her child at his home to spend the weekend, she had hoped that someday, and maybe soon, she would naturally fall in love and that person would be by her side to parent with. But since her appointment she had found herself daydreaming about things like watching her child take their first steps and when she looked up, at the usually faceless person sitting on the couch with her, she discovered that person was Severus. Logically she knew this was little more than a business transaction and that she wouldn't be parenting the normal way with him, but still she thought about it during every free moment she had.

Thursday morning she woke up startled by the tiny pile of packages at the end of her bed, guilt washing over her about the note she had left Severus the day before, he hadn't been there because it had been Christmas Eve. Hoping that he had gone away for the holiday and that explained his absence she began to look over the small pile of gifts. Harry, Molly, Hagrid, nothing out of the ordinary. Her heart sank when she realized that this was the first Christmas of many that she wouldn't get a gift from her parents. She was unable to locate them after the war and had accepted that she would never see them again. Jumping out of bed she threw on a red sweater that hung off her shoulders, black leggings, and black ballet flats. Throwing her hair into a messy bun she raced out of her room, praying that she could retrieve the note before Severus could see it.


End file.
